Love & War
by thomthom830
Summary: Sequel to A New War. Continuing adventures of Tuck, FDR, Lauren, Trish, and my character Amanda. An ex of Amanda's has transferred to their branch of the agency and he's not what he seems. How will his presence affect Amanda's relationship with Tuck and what secrets is he hiding? Please read & review!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hello all you wonderful people! I have been debating back and forth if I should work on a sequel to A New War and finally decided to try a couple chapters to see if anyone would even want to read it. So, here's the first chapter. If you want to continue to read about my This Means War world, let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to This Means War. I only own the characters that I have come up with.

Love & War

Chapter One

Amanda Simmons put her ID back into her bag as she stepped into the bar. The music pounded and made her headache worse, but she couldn't make any more excuses. It had ben two months since she'd had a night with Lauren and Trish. And this time, she was only half an hour later.

She scanned the room and found the two women in a back corner booth. She moved as quickly as she could through the throng of people and joined them.

"Well, damn, you do exist," Trish said as she joined them. Amanda rolled her eyes and smiled. She stood and hugged Amanda and then Lauren did the same.

"This is cute," Lauren said, poking Amanda's leather pencil skirt.

"Amazon. Fifteen bucks," Amanda said.

"No shit?" Lauren replied.

"Fake leather, too," she told the two women. "And it has an elastic waist.

"Awesome!" both women exclaimed.

"This is all great, but I have to live vicariously through you two because I have Bob, so…" Trish said. "I want details. Are you and FDR working on baby number two yet?" she asked Lauren. "And you…" she turned to Amanda. "Why haven't you set a date yet?"

Amanda gulped down a large wig of her vodka cranberry and left Lauren to answer.

"Well…"

"Well what, missy? You and that man should be at it like rabbits. If you need a break, I could volunteer myself as tribute," Trish said.

"That is really nice of you, Trish," Amanda told her.

"Yeah, thanks, but I think we're good," Lauren said.

The three women spent the next couple of hours chatting and catching up, along with drinking and dancing. Amanda was calling for a ride home to take the three of them home when another of Amanda's vodka cranberries arrived at the table.

"Oh, I've cashed out and we're headed home, but thank you," Amanda told the young waitress.

"It's from him," she pointed across the room at a dark-haired man.

Amanda followed the pointed hand and made eye contact with the guy before rolling her eyes.

"I'm good, thanks," she said.

"Do you know him?" Lauren asked after the waitress shuffled away with the drink.

"Matthew Jones," Amanda said, sighing. "We should get going. The car will be here in two…"

"Mandy, Mandy, Mandy…" the voice said.

"Mandy?" Trish snickered. Amanda tossed her a look and the women was instantly silenced.

Amanda turned around and looked up into the face of the man.

"What are you doing here, Matt?" Amanda asked.

"Well, I just moved here, sweetheart," Matt said. "I can't believe I'd run into you on my first night in town," he said. "You look good. I like this skirt. It makes your ass look…" he said, patting her rear end.

"Well, this has been great, but…"

"We can catch up on Monday instead, honey," Matt said.

"What?"

"I moved here to _work_ here, Mandy," Matt said. "I'm in your office under Collins, too."

"Why?" Amanda asked. "Because…"

"Because the east coast is so cold, honey. And I missed you," she said, putting a hand on her hip. "I _really_ like this skirt, you know. It's going to look great in a heap on the floor. Do you still wear those stockings that you used to wear for me?" he asked.

Amanda stepped back out of his grasp and turned to Lauren and Trish. "The car is outside. Have a great night," Amanda said over her shoulder as she marched the two women from the bar.

In their ride, Trish started questioning Amanda. "Who was that? I'm going to need a lot of detail."

"Matt Jones is an ex-boyfriend, well, ex-fiance," Amanda said.

"You were engaged before?" Lauren asked.

"A long, long, long time ago. I have told Tuck, so it's not some scary secret that he can't know about. But…yeah. I guess Matt doesn't remember everything he'd done, including cheat on me."

"Is he with…?"

"Yes. Unfortunately."

"He's hot."

"He knows it, too," Amanda said. "Tuck will not be happy."

"Maybe he'll be in a different department than you all?" Lauren suggested. "I really didn't like the way he was touching you," she added. "You can't just walk up to someone and put your hands all over them."

Amanda had already checked herself to make sure he hadn't put a bug on her. There were a lot of reasons to not trust Matt Jones and she assumed that this meeting tonight wasn't the chance encounter he'd said it was.

"Matt's never been good on rules…"

"But he just harassed you," Lauren argued.

Amanda nodded. "Yep. Matt Jones is an asshole. Always was one and probably will always be one."

Amanda was the last of the three to be dropped off that night and Tuck was still awake, despite the late hour. He sat on the couch with a beer watching the soccer match on TV. Joe was at his mother's house that weekend, so they were all alone.

"You are a sight for sore eyes," Tuck said from the couch. "Please, come here," he beckoned with this finger for her to join him.

Amanda kicked off her high heels and joined Tuck on the couch. She pulled up her skirt and crawled into his lap, straddling him.

She leaned down and kissed him passionately. His hands found her hips and he pulled her close while her hands quickly undid the buttons of his dress shirt.

"I know it's only been a few hours," Tuck said between kissing her. "But I missed you and I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Bedroom?" she said.

"Bedroom," he said in a deep voice. He picked her up in one smooth motion and she wrapped her legs around him so she could be carried without breaking contact. She found the pulse point on his neck and sucked on it before grazing it lightly with her teeth. He hissed in pleasure.

Tuck moved even faster and soon they were in the bedroom. He slammed the door behind them before he set Amanda on her feet. Her hands quickly unbuckled his belt before unbuttoning and unzipping his pants. They each made short work of their remaining clothing.

"Tell me what you want," Tuck whispered.

"You," she said breathlessly.

…

"You – you are going to be the death of me," Tuck said as he drew lazy circles on Amanda's back while he held her against his chest. They'd made love several times and now, both spent, they were enjoying the quiet of the house.

"I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not, so…" she smiled into his shoulder.

"How was your night with Lauren and Trish?"

"It was fine," Amanda said. "Drilled me as to why we haven't set a date yet, though."

"What did you tell them?"

"That it's all _your_ fault," she grinned, clearly lying. "I told them that we are just enjoying _us_ right now. And then I was told that I'm not getting any younger and to figure it all out and to do it quickly."

"That sounds rather like Trish," Tuck replied.

Amanda nodded.

"So, would you care to share with the class, i.e., me as to why you came home and ravished me? I don't really mind, as I enjoyed it immensely, but you, well, I know something is wrong. You should probably just tell me what that is."

Amanda drew a breath. "I ran into someone tonight that I don't particularly care for. It has made me incredibly…I am just so happy to have you in my life, Tuck," she said. "That's all."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that," he said, smiling. "Who did you run into?"

"Uh…Matthew Jones," she said slowly.

"Oh," Tuck said. "Matthew. Your ex."

"And I wanted to let you know how lucky I am," Amanda said. "In my head, that meant ravishing you."

"I do like the way your mind works, darling," he grinned widely.

She sat up and looked down at Tuck. "There's something else."

Tuck's smile fell.

"And you will not like it," Amanda added.

"What is it?"

"He's transferred out here and he's going to work under Collins," Amanda said.

"If he puts one foot wrong, he'll be in a body cast," Tuck said.

"You can't _do_ that, Tuck," Amanda said while she stood from the bed. She moved and pulled one of Tuck's sweaters on over her head and it fell over her body to her thighs. "As much as I'd like it."

"It will be fine, you know," Tuck told her. "Come here," he said, beckoning for her to come back to bed.

"If I come back to this bed, I might not ever leave it," Amanda said.

"That's the plan," Tuck said. "I can't think of a single thing I'd rather do this weekend," he told her.

…

Monday morning came about far too quickly and Tuck and Amanda walked into the Agency building side by side. Tuck was not looking forward to meeting Matthew Jones and he absolutely didn't want him anywhere near Amanda. He planned on talking with Collins as as soon as he could.

Amanda nudged him slightly with her elbow and motioned upwards with a head nod. Tuck followed her gaze and looked up. On the next floor, Collins was talking to a man he didn't was talking to a man he didn't recognize, but it had to be the _now-infamous_ Matthew Jones. Amanda shrugged it off and started walking while Tuck remained still.

She turned around and linked her arm through Tuck's. "Come on," she said.

Matt looked down at them and grinned at Amanda while he ignored Tuck entirely. Amanda hurried Tuck off towards the annex where Tuck and FDR had their desks.

"Aw, mommy walked you all the way in today?" FDR joked from behind his desk.

"Oh, I think that sounds like jealousy, Franklin," Amanda said with a smirk. "Did Lauren make you take care of your own breakfast today?"

"And I had to pick out my own clothes," FDR fake-pouted.

"Oh, the indecency of it all!" Tuck laughed.

"Now, I want you boys to play nice today," Amanda said.

"You should talk to Collins about moving your desk over by ours," FDR said. "It would be fun for all of us."

"I would _never_ get any work done. I'm sure Boss would go for that," Amanda said, smiling. "Lunch today? BBQ truck?"

"Sounds good. We should go now," FDR said.

"It's 8:15 in the morning!" Amanda replied.

"But I'm hungry," FDR pouted again.

"Eat a muffin," she told him. "See you both later," she said before bending to give Tuck a quick kiss.

She turned to walk away, but FDR spoke.

"What about me?" he asked.

Amanda turned back and looked at him, but Tuck spoke. " _What_ about you?" he asked.

"Don't I get one?" he said.

"No," said Tuck while shaking his head.

But Amanda was moving around FDR's desk. She grabbed his face in both hands and planted a chaste kiss on his forehead.

"Are you happy now?"

"Incredibly so," FDR laughed. " _So_ hot."

"Is there a queue I need to get in or a list I can put my name on to get one, too? Or is it a walk-in kind of thing?" a man's voice asked.

Amanda knew who it was without looking.

"Nope. All reserved for decent human beings," she said. "And since you definitely don't fall into that category…"

FDR's eyebrows shot up and Tuck came to stand next to her.

"Tuck, FDR, this is Matthew Jones, scum of the earth," she said. "Welcome to the west coast."

A/N: let me know what you think! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Love & War

Chapter 2

"Wow," Matt replied. "Is that any way to introduce your fiancé to your coworkers?" Matt asked. " _Scum of the Earth?_ That hurts me deeply, Mandy."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You, Matthew Jones, are _an ex_. An. Ex. An ex for a reason. You like the cold – it matches your cold heart – so I don't know why you're here."

He smiled. "I told you that Friday at the bar, by the way, you can wear that skirt anytime for me…but I came here because I need to work somewhere warmer, Mandy. And I remember how warm you can be."

FDR was now up and standing next to Amanda on her opposite side and Matt smirked.

"You don't need bodyguards, Mandy," Matt said. "It's really very cute, though."

"Amanda and I are engaged, mate," Tuck said.

Amanda nodded. "Yes, engaged. I have no interest in you and I'm angry that I ever did," she said. "You can go find your cubicle now. And I would suggest you stay there," she told him.

Matt was still smiling at her. "You couldn't possibly mean that," he said.

"Oh, I sure as hell do," Amanda said. "I don't know what you're thinking you're doing, that we would reconnect or whatever, but you are sadly mistaken, you asshole. Even if I were single, you wouldn't stand a chance."

"We'll see," Matt said.

"Go now. And if you try a damn think, I _will_ let my bodyguards at you, _after_ I've had my chance," Amanda said.

"Oh, Mandy, this is going to be so much fun," Matt said with another smirk.

"Mr. Jones, the lady asked that you leave her be. I suggest you do as she asked," Tuck said, taking a protective step in front of Amanda. "I don't know what your game is, mate, but we won't be playing it."

Matt Jones had an inch or two on him, but Tuck more than made up for that with muscle.

"Is that a threat…mate?" Matt asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Absolutely," Tuck replied. "I don't want you talking to her, looking at her, or even thinking about her. Her name shouldn't pass your lips. You put a toe wrong, Matthew, you will not enjoy the results, but I can promise you that I _will_ enjoy them. Now, go be a good boy, sit at your desk, and keep your hands to yourself."

Matt was grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Engaged or not, I get what I want, Tuck," Matt told him. "And she _always_ comes back to me. Always."

"Not this time, Matt," Amanda replied.

Matt, in turn, winked before turning on his heel and strolling away, whistling.

"Ugh," Amanda groaned.

"I don't think I would have ever pegged that asshole as your type, Amanda."

"He's not," Amanda said. "He's a mistake. A big, big mistake that seems to want to come bite me in the ass."

"I should have knocked some sense into him," Tuck said. "Are you all right?"

"That is incredibly chivalrous, Tuck, but I don't need you to start hitting people for me."

"Not _people_. Just him," Tuck said.

"It's not going to make you feel better," Amanda told him, although she didn't quite believe it.

"Well, I don't agree with that at all, Mand. I think socking the guy would make the _both_ of us feel better," FDR said. "All three of us, even."

"Okay, if I promise to let the both of you protect me, will you promise me to do it without getting yourselves suspended?" she asked. "Besides, if anyone gets to hit him, it's going to be me. And it'll be with my car," she smiled.

"I like the way she thinks, FDR smirked.

"You both need to _not_ hit him. At least, not yet," she asked them. "Do you both promise me?" she looked at the both of them.

Both men hesitated.

"Seriously, I don't want to have to worry about you two," she said. "Please?"

"Of course, Mand," FDR said.

"I don't make those kinds of promises," Tuck said defiantly. "I will do what I need to do to keep you protected, okay?"

"Well, lady and gentleman, we've reached a stalemate," FDR announced. "I'm not going to have to separate you two, am I?" FDR asked.

Amanda and Tuck were silently glaring at each other.

"I have a departmental meeting I have to get to, but," she said before turning to FDR. "See that Tuck keeps his fists to himself, would you, please?" she asked of her friend.

"Yes, ma'am," FDR saluted and smiled. "But you know he doesn't listen to me any better than he listens to you."

"Oh, somehow I think he'll manage," she said with a sideways glance before walking down the opposite hall.

Matt Jones kept to himself for the remainder of the week and that kept Amanda from tearing her hair out. She wasn't afraid of him, but she was absolutely annoyed at him. She had broken up with the guy a long time ago and his behavior recently made her glad she had.

Amanda walked up to the all-hands meeting with Tuck at the end of the day that Friday. They were talking quietly to each other when FDR joined them.

"Rumor has it that Collins got a fancy promotion and is leaving us," FDR told them quietly.

"What?" Amanda said, shocked. She had hoped having the no-nonsense Collins as their leader would keep Jones' antics to a minimum; Collins didn't tolerate any of that in her office.

"Yeah – I heard this is to announce who the director successor is," FDR said to them. "I hope it's me," he smiled.

"Uh-huh. That would be good for morale," Tuck replied.

Collins appeared at the railing above them and the crowd became quiet as they waited for her to do whatever announcing she planned.

"Thank you for all waiting at the end of the day," she began. "I won't keep you so I will get right to the point: come Monday, you will all have a new director overseeing operations here. I am to report to Langley over the weekend; I was given a promotion and will be working on the east coast from now on," Collins said.

A round of applause when through the crowd that was assembled and a small smile played on Collins' lips. It was gone as quickly as it came, though, and Collins' was motioning for them to call quiet down.

"Thank you, thank you. I can say that it has been a pleasure working with you all – well, _most_ of you," she said as she looked specifically at FDR and Tuck. They both grinned back at her.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to your new director, as well. Please also give a warm welcome to your new leader, Matthew Jones."

Amanda's jaw fell while Matt walked up to stand next to Collins. The room was applauding once more.

"Holy shit," Amanda hissed.

Matt was wearing a wide smile while he enjoyed the applause he was being given and he winked down at Amanda. She let out a low growl in the back of her throat.

"I look forward to getting to work with all of you," Matt said, but he was only looking at Amanda.

"I hate him so much," Amanda whispered to Tuck. "I'll see you at home." She stalked away a moment later and Matt was still grinning ear to ear.

Saturday afternoon, Amanda returned home and found Joe playing his video games in the living room. Amanda had spent the day out shopping with the girls: Cam, Alex, and Sophie and she was now she was glad she could rest.

"Howdy, Joe!" Amanda called over the volume of the game. She saw it was soccer and she smiled; Joe inherited his father's love of the sport.

He paused the game and dashed to Amanda to give her a quick hug.

"Hey!" he said. "You were shopping _all day_? Dad told me that's where you were when I got home," he told Amanda.

Amanda nodded. "Those girls know how to do it," she shrugged. "How was the week with your mom?"

"It was good. We went and saw Spider-Man afterschool one day," Joe said.

"Oh, cool!" Amanda replied. "Spelling test? Aced it, right?"

"I'm going to be in the school spelling bee!"

"What?! Oh my gosh! That's amazing, Joe! I knew you'd be awesome!" Amanda gushed.

"Thank you!" Joe laughed. "Dad went to the store. He says we're having a celebration tonight."

"I think that's awesome and a fantastic idea. Did he mention anything about dinner?"

"He told me to tell you he'd handle it," Joe said. "Because he knew you'd ask."

Amanda laughed.

The doorbell rang and Joe moved towards it. "I'll get it."

"Thank you," she called as she moved away toward the master bedroom.

Amanda returned to the living room and Joe carried a vase of flowers back toward her.

"You got flowers," Joe waggled his eyebrows around the vase.

"Who are they from?" Amanda asked.

"Um, obviously they're from dad," Joe said. "But the card is sealed, Mandy," he said before handing over the vase. "When did he start calling you Mandy?" he asked walking toward his video games.

"He doesn't," Amanda said, setting the flowers down on the table.

"The delivery guy told me to tell you hello," Joe called.

Amanda was incredibly suspicious now and when she opened the card her stomach dropped.

"Not from Tuck," she muttered.

She picked up the vase and moved through the kitchen to the back door of their loft. She took the stairs down and found Tuck coming in downstairs when she was walking out with the bouquet.

"Hey," he said, giving her a kiss. "Those are nice. Did you ladies actually buy something more than shoes today?"

"No. All shoes," she replied without any humor in her tone.

She tossed the entire vase into one of the garbage cans and turned around to face Tuck. Tuck was looking at her with a confused expression.

"Why did you throw out an entire bouquet of flowers?"

"Because I don't care for the person that sent them to me," she told him. She took one of the bags from Tuck's arm and they walked back into the building. "Matt sent them."

"Oh," Tuck said.

Amanda could hear the anger in his voice in just the one syllable.

They walked up the stairs and Amanda locked the door behind them and followed Tuck into the kitchen. He set his bags down and Amanda handed him the card from her pocket.

"Who do I talk to now, Tuck? He's running the place," Amanda said as she helped him unpack the groceries.

"I'd still talk to Collins," Tuck said. "She won't be unreachable. And she has a lot of pull with the Agency higher-ups," he said. "And you'll have to make the call because I'm going to be sent to Siberia."

Tuck was smiling at her, but Amanda wore a frown.

"That's not funny, Tuck," Amanda replied. "What happens if he starts to pull shit like that?"

Tuck finished and closed the fridge door. "I'll quit before I let the man send me away from Joe and you," he leaned to give her a kiss. "You don't need to worry about Matthew Jones, Amanda. Not while I'm around."

"Are you going to be around _all_ the time?" Amanda asked.

"Just try and stop me," Tuck told her. "Now, let's celebrate the kid winning his spelling bee!" he said.

His optimism and enthusiasm were contagious and the three of them celebrated Joe's win into the night. They had a classic junk food dinner of frozen goodies and then ended up watching movies until all three of them were passed out on the couch.

The following morning, Amanda tiptoed out of the living room to get the coffee started in the kitchen. She was going to read the news on the phone when a text came in.

" _It's not nice to throw away gifts like that, Mandy_ ," the text message read. She quickly took a screenshot and deleted the message before blocking the number. Matt was also watching her and their house. This was not good.

…

Author's note: let me know what you think!


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